nice chisels available

[Skip Helms]

Hi All, I recently received two WWII-era chisels from either Germany or Austria. There are a couple Ebay vendors who have them in either 20mm or 30mm widths. One vendor offers them in batches of 8 so someone in Europe must have found or been sitting on boxes of the things. I checked for other sizes but that was it. At $10 to $20 a pop, they seem a bargain.

eBay item# 152306838685

I really like them. The chisels are quite robust and hold an excellent edge. They have different stamps but look like they came from the same foundry. When I first found them online a batch had Waffenamt swastikas so look closely if that would bother you. Mine were generic. I think all industrial metalworks were identified in that era -- at least there aren't a lot of reports of soldiers being attacked with paring chisels.

I made simple handles for mine out of some dogwood in the firewood pile. The tangs are square so I drilled the holes with three different bits and chopped the waste with decreasing-sized chisels. The steel is in excellent shape other than being a bit black from storage but polishing the backs took no time at all.

If you need one or two more chisels, you might have a look. Cheers, Skip

[george wilson]

Maybe in a pinch the SS could use them as bayonets!!!

[Frederick Skelly]

Skip, thanks for the heads up on these!

Maybe in a pinch the SS could use them as bayonets!!!

That's too funny. When I looked at them, I thought they looked more like weapons than chisels!

[Glen Canaday]

I don't see any swastikas on them. No doubt they are of that era though. Maybe ebay had them take down those pics?

[Skip Helms]

They probably sold out. I doubt these were military issue but IIRC, all of the foundries in the Reich had a unique stamp. Surplus Waffenamt punches are available on Ebay too. My 30mm chisel is date-stamped 1941. The 20mm unit is just like the ones on Ebay now so it might be immediately post-war. The stamps might have changed over the years but the chisels all look like the same guys made them at the same place.

Long-story short, it's really good steel. I've pounded pretty hard on the 20mm chisel and didn't even need to touch it up. It's heavy. Fitting the square tang takes some time since it's all manual labor. I just stuck a piece of wood on without any hoops. If I bust it, maybe I'll do it more in the European style.

FWIW, I don't know how long they will be around but there seem to be plenty right now. sh

[Tom Vanzant]

My wife and I visited the Ortisei/Val Gardena region in NE Italy two years ago. Most of the carved wooden figures worldwide are carved here. In one shop, a carver was working on a five-foot tall camel, a two-month job...all of his fifty+ chisels were stamped Stubai Austria. This brand has been around for several hundred years, noted for its high quality steel. $20 for a 20 or 30mm chisel is a steal, with or without a handle.

[Ben Kiefer]

Thanks for that information, Skip. I'm a sucker for old chisels, so I picked one up for a price (with shipping) that was just a bit better. eBay item #322333019025.
He accepted my BIN offer of $10, so it was less than $14 shipped.

[Skip Helms]

You're welcome Ben. This was a flyer. Most of my chisels are either old US socket models or more recent door-hinge choppers. These are heavier in the hand. I couldn't find any more of the 30mm size on Ebay and it looks like inventory on the 20mm size is thinning so these might be a flash in the pan. sh

[Mike Henderson]

I ordered one of those 3/4" chisels for $10. When I received it, I soaked it in EvapoRust, sharpened it and then made a handle for it. Pix attached.

Anyone else received one of those and want to post a picture?

I haven't used it enough to see how the edge holds up.

Mike

German-chisel-1.jpg

[Ben Kiefer]

Here is a picture of mine, Mike. It is a hefty chisel which has taken a nice edge.


unnamed-3.jpg

[Patrick Chase]

Here is a picture of mine, Mike. It is a hefty chisel which has taken a nice edge.

unnamed-3.jpg

The main thing that impresses me about that chisel is the size of the bolster. It's not of pigsticker proportions, but it looks pretty beefy for a bench chisel. You probably don't even need a ferrule with that.

[Mike Henderson]

I don't know what the chisel was designed for, but for ordinary bench use, the bolster is much larger than necessary and affects the balance. When making my handle, I had to make the ferrule area of the handle fairly large which throws off the shape of the rest of the handle (to keep things in proportion). The handle on mine came out a bit larger than I prefer but certainly usable.

Making the tapered hole for the tang was a challenge but not too bad. After I drilled the stepped holes, I held the blade and poked it into the hole while the lathe was turning. In a way, I used the tang to ream out the stepped portion and got a good tight fit.

Mike